Throughout human history, since the advent of farming, the vast majority of humans were born, lived, and died within a few miles of their homes. That meant they didn't really need maps, since they spent all of their time in places they knew by sight. A map was a curiosity or an indulgence; the sort of thing a king might put on the wall to brag about his domain even though he had probably never seen much of it.
Later on, maps became extremely important as a way of exploring, as humans went all around the world to trade and interact with other cultures (albeit sometimes in more friendly ways than others). As roads and then railways connected us and travel came within the reach of the less wealthy, we all grew to understand the value of maps as showing us places we'd like to go, or which mattered because what was happening there affected our lives. Later, from airplanes, we were able to see our own nations from the air and appreciate their contours.
Then came satellites, and astronauts going into space. Ever since then, every child has a sense of the Earth's shapes and outlines - but they didn't always know where the boundaries were, as you can only rarely see these from space. With the rise of the internet, however, we all have access to detailed maps of the entire planet, and can finally truly know parts of our home world that we may never visit. It's time to find out whether you've been paying attention to this exciting resource. Let's get started!
